I’m back in New York after almost three months in Florida. My stay in Bradenton was grueling this time and extended a month because of the emergency conditions. We had serious rainfall, not as bad as South Carolina, but after a decade or more of drought conditions, the downpours were a shock. My yard was under water for about a third of the time I was there. An old roof leak opened up and part of my ceiling collapsed and I was up two nights emptying buckets down the sink to keep the water at bay. Trying to find and stop a roof leak is a great spiritual exercise. Water is an adversary that is quietly and consistently pervasive, nearly imperceptible, and unrelenting. My world became very small and immediate indeed. The point of the lesson I believe.

Then there was the pit bull attack. Yes, the little pit bull that tried to kill me in May was back in my yard, much more aggressive than the last time, and accompanied by his sidekick chihuahua who was barking nonstop at his heels as he came at me again and again.

I was swinging my shovel back and forth as fast as I could, trying to keep him at bay while I screamed “Help me!” at the top of my lungs. It seemed to go on for hours but was probably only a minute or two in duration. Then someone called to him from the house on the corner and he and his sidekick left as quickly as they arrived. Because I wasn’t able to get a photograph of him while he was attacking me, no ticket was issued by Animal Services. When I asked if the two previous tickets that were issued had been served, the Animal Services Officer couldn’t verify that they had been. Fortunately, the deputy who arrived in response to my call to the Manatee Sheriff’s Office, while he didn’t have legal grounds to file an official complaint, managed the situation in a way that finally stopped the owners of these vicious dogs from letting them run loose for the duration of my stay in Bradenton.

Now, I‘m back in New York and the grueling stress is mental rather than physical. I have publishing deadlines to meet, and after telling publicists that review copies that they send to me would be safe with my doormen, it turns out that they weren’t. They have disappeared from the building’s front desk and the post office is still trying to track them down.

I keep reminding myself to ask, “What is the lesson I am supposed to be learning here?” In the meantime, while I’m figuring it out, I’d give my kingdom for a good night’s sleep! Can anybody out there relate?

MESSAGE FROM THE GUIDES
The time of balancing and testing is over. If you have done the work, you will be amazed at how quickly your world returns to normal. Don’t look back. Keep moving forward and trust that your newly formed skills and the forces of the universe will carry you to safe ground and beyond.